[TR] Nesmith area - Patagonian Trade Route 6/7/2013

[Bosterson]

Trip: Nesmith area - Patagonian Trade Route

 

Date: 6/7/2013

 

Trip Report:

From Tim Olson's Gorge Classic Climbs:

 

The Patagonian Trade Route is a shocking line of super classic proportion...

 

The extreme isolation, the raw exposure, the towering forest topped cliffs, and the lack of quality rock, all combine to give you an enduring, vibrant experience.

 

Ben and I have been ticking off various scramble routes in the Yeon area - the NE Buttress, the NW Ridge, Katanai Rock - and wanted to spend a long day getting after one of the harder routes in GCC. PTR is described as "extreme risk," with long creek drainages to climb, bushwhacking, and sketchy 5th class leading. We took a standard 50m rope, slings, biners, and helmets. The route goes up Tumalt Creek from Dodson, right east of the Ainsworth Exit off the frontage road.

 

Eventually it splits, and you jump up onto the small ridge in the middle.

 

 

 

We followed the ridge up through some thick brush until it popped out into another drainage. The book says to go up a few hundred feet and then ascend a small, thin ridgelette to climber's right that requires some 4th class roped brush scrambling. We instead kept straight up the gully and skipped the ridgelette.

 

 

This required a slightly sketchy traverse at the top of the gully to go over to the top of the ridgelette, where the rest of the "hard" climbing begins. There are crazy landslides all over this rugged area.

 

View west towards Yeon Mountain.

 

 

We geared up.

 

 

From the flat top of the ridgelette, we ascended some steep, loose ground until we hit a rock headwall. It looked like a good, easy way up, but the rock was atrocious - part dirt, super loose. So, following the route description, we traversed left (east) across a narrow shelf that required one very sketchy downstep with poor moss hands. This was pitch 1, protected at the sketchy step by slinging some brush. At the end of the shelf (70 ft?), I set up a belay on two trees and brought Ben across.

 

View down into the gully, the ridgelette (midground trees), and Tumalt Creek way below.

 

 

Pitch 2 climbed straight uphill and was fairly straightforward and well protected by hitching slings to trees and some sturdy, buried roots. The crux, as described in GCC, is a stem between a tree and a semi-loose rock wall - transferring your weight out of the stem and onto the so-so rock is balancy. (Ben accomplished it by shoving his hand deep into the dirt and making a fist jam?) Above the stem there's a little shelf with some trees, and since I was running out of slings, I built an anchor and brought Ben up.

 

 

I sent him onward for P3, which went straight to the rim of the flat Nesmith plateau. It's probably not necessary to rope up, as the climbing from here on is easy and a bit more solid, but a fall would not be good, and there's one exposed rocky corner to turn immediately after the shelf I was belaying on.

 

Looking uphill above that corner, easy, soft ground.

 

 

Looking to my right.

 

 

The "summit."

 

 

From here, we followed the rim uphill to the summit of Nesmith. En route we passed some amazing landslides. Getting close to the edge is a little unnerving, since the edge is basically a moss and tree root cornice...

 

 

This view shows the approximate upper portion of PTR, from the traverse over to the ridgelette and up to the top.

 

 

 

In sum, the route is approximately 3000 ft of approach up a series of drainages, ridges, and gullies to a couple of pitches of slightly sketchy and decently exposed dirt, moss, and tree climbing. Most of it is pretty easy to protect with hitched slings, and it never felt overly dangerous.

 

GCC says the FA was in 1999, and they mention a possible left exit that looks like it may have gotten destroyed by one of the big landslides, so I'm curious if anyone else has done this and how much traffic it sees.

 

Gear Notes:

GCC recommends all kinds of pro, but I wouldn't trust any of the rock to hold any kind of gear. Hitch slings to trees and roots - three 24" and five 48", plus some bigger webbing to make anchors around trees.

 

Approach Notes:

Tumalt Creek drainage

[Off_White]

Now that's some classic NW Adventureering!

[OlympicMtnBoy]

Nice jungle pics!

[The Cascade Kid]

I'm unclear, is this tree climbing or landscaping?

[JasonG]

More importantly, has anyone climbed the landslide direct?? With modern tools and some pickets, it should go. Don't scoop me.

[matt_warfield]

I'm unclear, is this tree climbing or landscaping?

 

And one penalty point for shorts plus gaiters. If poly under the shorts it would be two points. But always like to see good scenery in a TR so nice work.

[JBo6]

I've hiked a few of the trails around there, but I certainly haven't done that! Cool trip report!

[Marco Falken]

"Vibrant experience"...yes... Your fotos 6-9 remind me of my approach today to The Tooth N.Ridge scramble from Denny Creek. I appreciate your mental condition that makes you seek this out -- me I was desperately hoping to god to avoid this kid of perverted hell!! Just to reach the exalted stone and sky above.

But let's compare dirt techniques & tips. The ice ax was more reliable in the live firs than rotten logs. And thwacking dirt with the ax can give surprisingly good placements -- long as there's not rock underneath (bzzzfingers!). Kicking steps in the steep dirt and slippedy fir needle duff? -- iffy; I would have shat myself if not for the lifesaving slide alder grab.

 

 

[kevbone]

Way to get out there and play in the dirt......

[Bosterson]

I'm unclear, is this tree climbing or landscaping?

 

Dirt scrabbling? (I think GCC calls this "Gorge Adventuring;" you've gotta make your own fun.)

 

I did find a super solid hand jam between two trees though...